The present invention is directed to tear strip opening devices for containers and more particularly to an improved such device of the general type comprising a pair of spaced-apart guide strip elements extending along the wall of a container and adhered thereto, and a tear band element adhered to the interior surface of the same container wall, aligned with the space between the guide strip elements mounted on the outside surface of the container wall. Tear strip opening devices of this general construction are known. The present invention, however, is directed to improvements in the construction of such devices, to enable them to be utilized more efficiently and economically.
In accordance with the invention, an independent, composite guide strip structure is provided which includes a thin, relatively wide carrier strip, formed of a material easily tearable in at least the longitudinal direction. Spaced-apart guide strip means are bonded to one surface of the carrier strip, along the marginal side edge portions thereof, with the carrier strip spanning the space between the respective guide strip means. The composite structure enables the spaced apart guide strip means, each of which may comprise a plurality of strip-like elements to be handled as a single element, simplifying and expediting the application of the opening device to container wall by reducing the number of elements required to be handled.
In one advantageous form of the invention, a carrier strip carries spaced apart guide strip means on one surface thereof and is adhesively coated on the opposite surface. When the composite structure is applied to a container wall, the respective spaced-apart guide strip means are bonded to the wall of the container by means of the interposed thin carrier strip. In another advantageous form of the invention, the spaced-apart guide strip means are bonded to one surface of the carrier strip, and the guide strip means themselves are adhesively bonded to the container wall, with the carrier strip on the outside.